Fed Up With Bank Buybacks?

Picture this: J.P. Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon walks up to a paper shredder and feeds $100 bills into it while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke looks on approvingly.

It's a nightmarish image. Unfortunately for J.P. Morgan shareholders, it isn't wholly divorced from reality. The bank spent $4.3 billion in the first seven months of this year buying back its own stock—with Mr. Bernanke's blessing. Yet, thanks to the recent slide...